'Learning is impossible' for victims of abuse if they are not supported

Learning is almost impossible for victims of abuse who have no support, a top children’s campaigner has warned teachers.

Calling for a better understanding of the impact trauma has on the brains of youngsters, Camila Batmanghelidjh, pictured, said too often the time was not taken to discover the real cause of disruptive behaviour.

Delivering the annual Wales Education Lecture, organised by the General Teaching Council for Wales, Ms Batmanghelidjh, an experienced psychotherapist, said there is now greater knowledge available about the impact of abuse on the development of children’s brains and this, in turn, should lead to better handling of extreme behaviour.

“Too often they are presented in the media as vermin and we dismiss their behaviour as a manifestation of flawed morality. By doing that, we are losing the opportunity to find out what is really happening,” said the charity chief whose support organisations Kids Company and The Place 2 Be have helped more than 70,000 disturbed children across the UK.